Uncle Rico
by TaraDragonWing
Summary: Max gets seperated from the flock. She winds up at her Uncle's house, but she loses her memory. Will she get her memory back? Will the flock find her? originally set after STWAOES, but I'm going to add stuff from Final Warning.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. The plot in mine though._

Chapter 1

"Max, we're lost aren't we?" Nudge asked.

"No, we just don't know were we are at the moment." I said. We are so lost.

"We're lost." Gazzy moaned. We had been flying for hours. Last time I checked we had been in Texas, but now I didn't have a clue. We had been flying due east, so maybe we are in Arkansas?

"Max doesn't have a clue." Angel informed the flock.

"Thanks Angel." I said dryly. She smiled sweetly. Fang threw me an accusing look.

"Hey!" I snapped, "You're the one who lost the map." He shrugged. If I wasn't so tired, I'd slap him.

"Fang, Max wants to-" Angel started.

"Angel." I interrupted with a warning. Iggy started laughing.

"I bet I know what she wanted." Iggy said. That's it. I surged over him and kicked him in the head.

"Ouch! What'd you do that for?" Iggy rubbed the back of his head. I resume my position at the head of the flock.

"That's for having your mind in the gutter." I informed him icily. Iggy sunk into a gloomy silence.

"Look, there's a river. Maybe we could stop there for a moment?" Nudge asked and gave me Bambi eyes. I though about it for a moment.

"Alright." I said. Then all hell broke loose. Suddenly we were surrounded by Flyboys. I lunged at one then stopped cold. The flyboy in front of me had a rifle trained at my heart.

"Stop or I'll kill her." The flyboy yelled. The flock went still.

"That's better." Said another flyboy. He looked like he was in charge.

"Jerk." Angel snarled. The one with the rifle jerked the gun up to try to point at Angel. I didn't give him a chance. The moment the gun left my heart I lunged at him. I snapped his head up just as he pulled the trigger. Pain exploded in my right wing.

I heard someone scream my name then all I was aware of was falling. I looked up. The flyboys were blocking the flock from coming after me, but the flock was fighting back.

I looked down. I was headed straight for the river. I hope its deep I thought, and then I hit the water. My wings felt as if there were being torn off. It was too much. I sank into darkness.

//// Thank a long drive and a cd player for this story. Don't be afraid to point out mistakes. I do correct them and re upload the chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. The plot in mine though._

Chapter 2

When I came to I still in the river. I must have hit a calm stop, or rather a large rock sticking out of the water. I clung to the rock and took note of my surroundings. The banks of the river were too high for me to reach. There were big trees on either side, but none of the branches were long enough or strong enough to pull myself up with.

Maybe I could fly out. Then I remembered the gun shot. I twisted to look at my right wing. I wish I hadn't. There was a raw gaping hole where the bullet went through. I also had several cuts, scrapes, and plenty of feathers missing. My left wing wasn't in much better shape. Flying was defiantly out of the question.

That left me two options. I could either stay on this rock and pray I'm found, or I could left the river carry me downstream and try to find a way out.

Much as I love this rock I decided to try to find a way out. Gingerly, I pulled in my wings and shoved out the rock. The river caught and began to carry me. It was so gentle and calm that I started to enjoy myself. Just as I though, the banks began to lower. All I had to do was wait.

There was a curve ahead. The water was starting to speed up. I didn't think much of it till I turned the bend. A few yards up the river and bank suddenly cut off. I was confused. How could it just end like that? Then realization hit like a bomb shell. _Oh god no!_

I was at the top of a waterfall. As I was carried closer I could see the bottom. I hope those rocks aren't as sharp as they look. As I went over I made a spilt second decision. I snapped open my wings. Bad idea. My scream of pain could be heard on the other side of the world. I kept them open long enough to glide past the sharp rocks sticking up. Once I was above calm I simply snapped them shut and fell stomach first into the river. I blacked out again.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Declaimer: I don't own the flock, but I do own the plot. **_

Chapter 3

I woke slowly. My body felt like I was run over by an eighteen-wheeler then drug through razors. I forced my eyes open.

I was lying on a bed in a small room. Besides the bed there was a dresser, a mirror over said dresser, an end table, and a good sized window. Everything was cabined styled.

I heard footsteps and tensed. They stopped outside my door and the door opened slowly. A man poked his head in. He was about thritry-ish and had mousey brown hair. He remained me of someone, but I didn't know who. Once he saw I was awake he opened the door wider and slipped in. He had a tray in his hands. A wonderful smell was coming from it. I only hoped it only felt like I was drooling.

"I see you're awake. I made you chicken noodle soup." He said. His voice was warm. I liked him immediately. He set the tray on the end table next to my bed. Then he helped me sit up. I hated how weak I was. He placed the tray on my lap. The smell was coming for a bowl of soup. I quickly dug in. The food was gone in under a minute. I held the bowl up to him.

"More please." I rasped. A little startled he took the bowl and left the room. I know that I should be asking who he was or how I got here, but my only focus was food. Three bowls later, I was finally satisfied. He sensed that I was ready to talk. He took the bowl and tray away. Then he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Where am I? Who are you?" I rasped out.

"This is my cabin. My name is Rico." He hesitated, seeming to want to add more but I interrupted before he could decide.

"How did I get here?"

"I found you washed up on the banks on the river. I carried you where. You've been out for two days." Well that explained why I was so hungry. But wait…

"What river?" He looked startled.

"Don't you remember being in the river? From the looks of it, you were I there for a while." I didn't remember the river. My eyes went wide with sudden horror.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He sounded worried. I looked up at him.

"I can't remember anything. All I know is my name!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Declaimer: I don't own the flock, but I do own the plot. **_

Chapter 4

Rico's eyes widened then he looked thoughtful. He gingerly touched the top of my head. I winced. His hands had brushed over a super sore spot. He nodded.

"I was afraid of this. You must have smashed your head against something. It caused you to lose your memory." My jaw dropped and fear swept through my body.

"Will I get my memory back?" I asked. I was afraid of the answer.

"Your memory will return." My breath gushed out. I didn't even know I'd been holding it.

"But?" I asked.

"It'll take time. In the meantime, concentrate on getting your wounds better and let your memory come back on it's on. Try to force it and it may never return." _Great, just great._

"How long will it take?" He bit his lip. The answer wasn't good then.

"I don't know. It may take a week or it could take years."

"What!?!" I screamed. Not knowing my past was already making me scared. Not knowing for years… I didn't what to think about it.

"Relax; very few people have taken years. Most likely, you'll get bits and pieces every now and then."

"Oh, great. That makes it soo much easier." I said dryly. He chuckled. I leaned back against the headboard then hissed with pain. My back felt like it was on fire.

"Careful, you'll damage your wings."

"What! Are you mad? People don't have wings." I said in disbelief. He was nuts, but he didn't look or act crazy. I had to make sure. I twisted around and pulled the back of my shirt up. I couldn't see so I ran my hand across my back. To my shock, my fingers encountered feathers. I slowly spread my right wing.

I wish I hadn't. If the pain didn't make me lightheaded, then the sight of my wing sure did. The bullet wound jumped out at me. I blinked and swallow down bile.

"There's a bullet wound in my wing. How did I know it was a bullet wound?" I asked. He

shrugged.

"Maybe that knowledge was buried in your mind? Anyway, that wound needs looking at. I've called my sister to come look at it. She's a vet."

"Is she trust worthy?" He rolled his eyes.

"No, I just called a random relative to come take a look at a girl with wings?" Sarcasm dipped from his voice. I smiled. Suddenly, I realized I hadn't told him my name.

"My name's…Max." For a moment there I almost forgot my own name. I heard a loud knocking.

"That'll be my sister." Rico left my room. Minutes later a dark-haired woman with worried eyes opened the door. Her eyes got bigger when she saw me.

"Max." she whispered.

"How did you know my name?" I asked started. Did I know her from my past?

"My name's Dr. Martinez. I'm your mother."

/// Dramatic music plays in the background. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Announcer voice: "Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of Uncle Rico."

I need a hobby, besides daydreaming and FanFiction.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Declaimer: I don't own the flock, but I do own the plot. **_

Chapter 5

I stared at the woman in shock. Hastily I searched my memory, or what's left of it. I drew a blank.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember you." At her pained look I lower my head.

"Don't take it personal sis. At the moment, all Max knows is her name." Rico came to my defense. Mom took a deep breath.

"How?" she asked. Her voice sounded thick as though she was holding back tears.

"She must have hit her head on a rock while she was in the river." Mom started to reach for my head, but Rico stopped her.

"It's her wings that need attention right now." Mom nodded and shifted her attention to my back. I gently spread my wings. Her horrified gasp told me she had saw the bullet wound.

"You're just a magnet for injuries aren't you?" She teased.

"Huh." Nice intellect response Max, I scolded myself.

"When I first met you had a shoulder and wing wound." I twisted around to look at her.

"Didn't I grow up with you?" She shook her head. "When did we first meet then?"

"Several months ago." She said sadly. Well, that explained why I couldn't find a memory of her.

"Well, who raised me then?" I asked.

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not."

"Because I don't know." Great, I was stuck memory-less with two people who didn't know jack about my past. Could it get any worse? A few minutes later my question was answered.

"Max." She waited till I turned my head toward her. Her expression turned my heart cold. "I'm afraid that your wing's bullet wound will take a long time to heal. It might not heal at all." She told me gently.

_What!!!!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own the flock, but the plot is mine, all mine._

**Chapter 6**

I couldn't breathe. It felt as if someone had just sucker punched me right in the stomach.

"No." I whispered. This can't be happening. I had a sudden flash.

_I was flying. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. The wind whistled through my hair and feathers as the land below me flashed by. _

_Oh god. _I was crying now. I knew what I losing.

"Max." Mom said gently. I lifted up my tear stained face. "If you follow my directions exactly to the letter there might be a chance."

I nodded fiercely. A thin ray of hope rose in me. I'd to anything to be able to fly again.

"Don't stress yourself. Don't try to move your wings yet. Be very careful and don't smash your back again anything. Do you understand?" She said slowly. I nodded. Well, that didn't seem too hard.

"I'm going to leave medicine here with Rico. It's for the pain and it'll help you recover your strength. I'll dress your wounds now and check on them again in a week." She said. I frowned.

"Aren't you staying?"

"I've got a practice to run and my daughter, Ella to take care of."

"You have a daughter?"

"Two of them. You and Ella. Ella's your half sister." So I had a mom and a half sister. Was that all the family I had? Something was telling me there were more.

"Are there any others?" She ignored my question.

"Rico, I need to give you Max's medicine." Rico followed Mom out of the room. What was she hiding? I heard them walk down what sounded like stairs. Faint mumbles reached my ears, but they were too far away and the walls were too thick for me to make out what they were saying.

I felt exhausted. I started to lie down, but then remembered what Mom had said about crushing my wings. I don't think laying on them would be a very good idea. How was I supposed to sleep them? On my stomach, dud.

I slowly twisted around to lie on my belly. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

/// Sorry it took so long.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: The flock and Dr. Martinez is JP's. All others are mine and so is the plot._

Chapter 7

I woke the next day to birds chirping. I panicked for a moment not remembering where I was. Then the events of the last 24 hours came rushing back. I groaned into my pillow. And so began my healing.

I was restricted to my bed. I was allowed up to use the bathroom, but that was it. Rico brought me three helping of each meal. At first, I slept too much to care, but as the week wore on I was awake for hours on end with nothing to do. Finally I got sick of it.

"Uncle Rico!" I yelled. I heard footsteps and my door opened.

"What?" He sounded annoyed. I grinned.

"I'm bored out of my mind."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Give me something to do."

"Like what?" I rolled my eyes.

"How about a notebook and pencil." It was the first thing that entered my mind.

"You're gonna write?" He asked confused. I rolled my eyes.

"No, I can barely spell. I want to draw." I told him in a dud kind of voice. He looked thoughtful.

"I'll be right back. Stay here." He said as he started toward the door.

"Like I can do anything but stay." I said dryly. He smiled before he left the room. He was gone for what felt like ages. I was about to doze off again when he finally returned. He handed me a sketch book and a rather large black pencil case. I opened the case to find several sketch pencils and about every color colored pencil invented. I'm pretty sure that my jaw dropped. Rico laughed at my expression.

"I tried to take up sketching once, but never got around to actually drawing anything. There's a pencil sharpener somewhere in there. I'll get you a trash bin for the shavings." I just nodded dumbly. Rico left the room again.

Now I encountered a problem. I'm stuck on my stomach. How am I going to draw from that position? After a few minutes of brain storming I found a solution. I pulled my pillow up under my chest. It took another pillow before I was propped up enough to draw freely. By then Rico had came, put a trash bin by the bed, and left again.

Finally, I could draw. But, what to draw? I flipped the sketch book to the first page. It was blank of course. Rico meant it when he said he never got around to drawing. I didn't know why I was stalling, but I was. Irritated at myself, I picked up a pencil and quickly make a mark. Then another and another. Before I knew it, Rico was coming in with dinner. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me still up and drawing.

"I bring dinner." He sang out. I glared at him, and then look at what I was drawing. I had just drawn lines without thinking so what I saw surprised me. A dark figure was crouching on a rock that was overlooking the edge of a cliff. His black hair was whipping around his face. Spreading from his back were beautiful black wings.

**Sorry **about the long update wait. I've been fine tuning the details of this story. Then another story started hounding me. So now I've got two stories on my hands. Tell me what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Maximum Ride, but I do own my marble collection. Pretty marbles, nice marbles, wonderful… Ehmm, On with the story!

Chapter 8

"Max!" I hear Mom call. Finally, the long week was over. She entered my room and I looked up from the picture I was drawing. It was another one of that dark figure.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Bored out of my mind. Besides that I'm fine." She smiled warmly.

"Spread your wings." I did as she ordered. To my surprise it didn't hurt. Her gentle fingers removed the bandages. I let out a sigh of relief as cool air touched my wings. I'd thought I'd go crazy for wanting to scratch.

"You're healing just fine. A few more weeks and you'll be soaring among the clouds." I sighed in relief. I was going to be able to fly again.

"Am I able to get out of this blasted bed yet?" I asked. She chuckled.

"You're perfectly fine except for your wings. The only thing you can't do is fly." YES!!! I quickly leap out of bed. Mom laughed again. Her laughter faded when she caught sight of my drawing.

"Max, what's this?" she asked holding up the sketch book.

"My drawings." I answered in a dud voice. She looked startled as she flipped through the pages.

"Have you've been getting any memory flashbacks?"

"A few, but mostly of flying." Her eyes went widen. She had reached a lab picture.

"Max, these pictures…" she trailed off.

"What about my pictures?" I was confused.

"I think your drawing your memories."

**Short, but at least it's an update. I'm trying to keep to my old rate of an update per day, but it's not easy. Review to tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the wait. I don't own Maximum Ride, bal bal bal…

**Chapter 9**

I stared at Mom like she was crazy. There was no way that those nightmarish pictures were my past. Although that might explain why they felt so familiar. _No Max, bad Max! _I scolded myself. I couldn't accept that my past was this horrific. Then again, that dark figure I keep drawing is pretty hot.

"Are you sure?" I asked

"Positive." My heart sank.

"How can you be positive? You said you didn't know anything about my past!" I yelled.

"I know what you've told me." My shoulders slumped. So it was true. No wonder my subconscious didn't want to remember my past. Then the image of the dark figure flashed in my mind again. _Well, not all. _You know, I've really have to give him a name. Hey, maybe Mom will know.

I took the sketch book, or rather, memory book, from Mom and flipped to one of my drawing of him.

"If you know my past, then tell me who he is." I said, pointing at his picture. Mom seemed to be debating on what to say.

"I'm sorry Max. I can't tell you that." She said finally.

"Why not?" She ignored my question.

"You need to start doing exercises with your wings." Looks like that subject is close. I listened as she began to instruct me of how to do wing exercises, but part of my mind was still thinking of my picture. I finally settled on a name for that mysteries figure. I decided to name him Dark Angel.


	10. Chapter 10

Declaimer: make it up in your own mind.

Claimer: Plot and all additional characters are mine.

Chapter 10

Once Mom left, I finally got to explore the rest of the house. My room was upstairs along with three other rooms. I poked my head into each room. Two of them were empty bedrooms like mine. The other one was Uncle Rico's room. His room was so messy that I was surprised that I even got the door opened.

The stairs led to a big room that was both kitchen and living room. There were several more rooms to explore, but I got sidetracked by the windows. Light was streaming in and I could see the forest beyond. It's been over a week, if I count those two days before I woke up, since I've been outside.

I had this feeling that I was outdoors a lot. I shrugged and looked for a door leading out. _Duh, _there was a sliding glass door right by the fridge. I practically raced to it. Stepping outside, I took a deep breath and spread my wings. It felt so good that I groaned.

A deep chuckle made me whirl around and freeze. Staring straight at me was a huge wolf. A huge, old, toothless wolf to be exact. I relaxed somewhat. He seemed to be staring at my wings. I pulled them in. He grinned. I don't know how, but he did. Then I got my biggest shock of all. The old wolf opened his mouth and spoke.

/// I know it's short, but I'm making chapter 11 right now. Review and I'll have Kiki make you cookies. Kiki's my adorable talking and flying cat.

Kiki: "Hi!" Waves paw


	11. Chapter 11

JP owns Maximum Ride, but I own the plot and extra characters. I also own Kiki.

Kiki: I'm nobody's pet.

Me: You want me to feed you right.

Kiki: Okay I'm your pet. Now Feed Me!

Me: Here's some cookies. Here's the 11th chapter for you loyal readers.

**Chapter 11**

I stared at the old wolf in shock.

"Um, could you repeat that I wasn't listening?" I asked weakly. The wolf laughed again.

"I said, what's a pretty lass like you doing with wings?" He said in a wheezing voice. I frowned, I wasn't sure I liked being called pretty lass.

"Don't know. I lost my memory." And my mind apparently. I mean, come on. I'm talking to a talking wolf. I wonder if the medicine Mom gave me is messing with my mind. The wolf gave me a pitying look.

"What's your name young lass?" He asked. Okay, the wolf is defiantly talking to me. Maybe I should just go with the flow.

"It's Max. What's yours?"

"My name is Yamir." I blinked. What an odd name.

"How can you talk?" I blurted out. The old wolf sighed and settled himself comfortly. I set down so that I was now looking up at him. I noticed that he was sitting in the shade of the porch. I bet all that black fur was making him burn up.

"Scientist created the first pack many summers ago. One day there was an explosion and the pack was able to escape. But there was a problem. The pack was too small in size. Finally, the pack bred with wolves in other packs. Amazingly, pups born to normal wolf mothers were the same as those born to the pack's mothers. They were all super wolves. After several summers of searching, the pack finally came here. This place offered shelter to the strange pack. This is how the pack came to be."

It took a few moments of silence for me to realize he was finished. I looked up at the old wolf to see that he was lying down with his eyes closed. A big snore told me that he had fallen asleep.

I sat there stunted. Millions of questions were racing through my mind. I heard footsteps in the kitchen. They headed my way and stopped at the door. I looked up to see Uncle Rico. He looked from me to Yamir.

I rose gracefully to my feet and faced him. There was a sheepish look on his face. I pointed to Yamir.

"Explain." I demanded.

//// Cliffe!! I'm so evil.

Kiki: "Yet, you are so evil."

Me: "Oh be quiet."

Kiki: sticks up nose

Me: "Why don't you go make cookies for the reviews?"

Kiki: "Okay!"


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Haven't we been over this already? Me no owne Maximum Ride, but I do own the plot and all extra characters.

**Chapter 12**

Uncle Rico sighed.

"Come inside and I will." He walked over to the couch and sat down. After a longing look at the woods, I followed. He cleared his throat.

"I take it you've talked to Yamir." I nodded and he continued. "He told you the wolf version of his story, right?" I nodded again.

"So, I wasn't imagining a wolf talking to me then?" I asked. I had to be completely sure I wasn't crazy.

"Nope, Yamir can talk alright. All the pack can in fact." I stalled asking the question burning in my mind and asked a different one.

"How many are there?" He shrugged.

"How knows? They keep to them selves mostly. Yamir's the only one that stays with me. And that's only because he's too old to keep up with the pack."

"What else can they do besides talk?" I asked. He took a moment to answer.

"Well, they're as smart as any human. Their eyes are human as well. They speak human and wolf. They're also a lot stronger than regular wolves."

"How did they get here?" I finally asked the question that I really wanted an answer too. Rico nodded as thought he had been expecting this.

"I inherited this cabin and about five square miles from my grandfather, your great grandpa. One day, the pack appeared outside my door. One of their members, Yamir in fact, had been gravely wounded. The rest of the pack wasn't much better off. I fed them and nursed Yamir back to health." He stopped and I motioned for him to go on.

"It didn't take long for one of the pack member to slip up and say something in my presence. As a thank you for helping them, Yamir told me his story. I offered them the woods I owned as a safe heaven. They gladly accepted. But, after a while the pack had grown too much to live well in the square five miles I owned, so I slowly bought more land. Now I'm nursemaid to the pack and the proud owner of a hundred square miles of land." He finished with a flourish.

"Wow." Yhea, I know, such an intelligent response. Let's see you come up with something better when your uncle tells you he has mutant wolves living in his backyard.

"I'm surprised that Yamir talked to you. He's usually carefully about strangers."

"I was stretching my wings when he first said something."

"Ahh, that's why. He knew that you wouldn't expose him because you would then expose yourself." I was about to come back with a witty resort when my stomach growled. Uncle Rico laughed.

"How about I make us some lunch?" He asked. I nodded gratefully. He walked over to the fridge and started taking out ingredients. I noted how well stocked it was.

"Is there a town near here?" I asked.

"Mena's about twenty miles up the road."

"Is it a big town?"

"Good sized. Why the sudden interest?"

"I need to buy some clothes. These have about kicked the bucket."

"Sis left a shirt and jeans for you. Why don't you get them and take a bath. You're starting to smell." He teased. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Your clothes are on the dresser. The bathroom thru that door" He pointed to a door across the room. I rolled my eyes and raced upstairs.

Just like he said, there was a pair of jeans and a pale green shirt on the dresser. I grabbed them and thundered down the stairs.

"Quite making all that racket!" snapped Yamir. He was laying on the couch me and Uncle Rico had just vacated. I chucked as I ran past him to the bathroom. I heard him mumbled something about disrespectful teenagers before I closed the door.

The bathroom looked like, gasp, a bathroom. A very nice bathroom mind you. I quickly stripped off my smelly clothes. I stepped into the shower and turned on the water. I yelped as icy spray hit me square in the face. I hurrily adjusted the temperature. Within moments warm water was dripping off my back.

I took as long as I could in the shower. I washed ever inch of my body twice and my hair three times. That's how long it took to get the smell out. When I felt almost human.

"Max! Lunch is ready." Uncle Rico called. I hurrily threw on my clothes and raced out for my three helping of wonderfully chili.

/// A longer than usually update. Are you happy now?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next two days passed peacefully. I spent most of my time on the porch drawing. Yamir would occasionally lie near me and watch me draw. Most of my pictures were of the lab type place. A few were of the Dark Angel. I even drew pictures of five other angels and a small black dog.

I looked up from my sketch book, or memory book, and sighed. Yamir watched me in confusion.

"I'm tried of looking at pictures of the past. A past I can't even remember. I don't even know if I want to remember anymore. Some of my pictures give me nightmares." My voice broke and I was startled to find tears on my cheek. I angrily wiped them away. I had to be strong for my flock. I went completely still. Yamir's look of confusion intensified.

"I just remembered something. The angels I draw, I call them my flock." Excitement colored my voice.

"Can you remember anything else?" Yamir asked. I searched the black hole I call my memory. Nothing can up. My throat felt tight, and I rubbed my fists against my eyes. I dropped my face onto my arms, crossed over my knees. This sucked! I wanted my memory back. Suddenly, I got another flashback.

_I was in a dusty cave around a campfire. A dark-haired teenaged boy was sitting next to me. His hand gently smoothed my hair off my neck. My breath froze in my chest, and every sense seemed hyper-alert. His hand stroked my hair again, so softly, and then trailed across my neck and shoulder and down my back, making me shiver._

_I looked up. "What the heck are you doing?"_

"_Helping you change your mind," he whispered, and then he leaned over, tilted my chin up, and kissed me._

I came back to the present slowly. Yamir was looking at me concerned.

"Did you get a flashback?" He asked. I nodded dumbly, still stunned from the remembered feelings. "Well, what happened? You went all glassy eyed." I came to my senses and felt my face flush.

"I was in a cave and I was, umm, I was…" I felt my face flush even deeper. Yamir turned his head to the side with a look of puzzlement. I took a deep breath.

"I was kissing this incredibly hot boy." I said in a quick rush. He began to crackle. I ignored him as a sudden thought crossed my mind. I opened my sketch book and quickly flipped through. I stopped on the first picture I drew of the Dark Angel.

"That's him." I said in awe. Yamir stopped crackling.

"Huh?" he asked. I pointed to the Dark Angel.

"That's the one I was kissing in my flashback." Yamir looked over my shoulder to see the picture.

"Well, slowly but surely your getting your memories back." He said proudly. I felt all my excitement disappear. I stood up, closed the sketch book, and threw said book onto the porch.

"Max, what's wrong?" I sighed and looked him in the eye.

"I'm tired of morning over the past. I want to enjoy the presence for a while." Yamir looked like he was deep in thought. Finally he looked up.

"Do you want to meet the pack?" he asked. My jaw dropped.

"I thought the pack kept to themselves." I blurted out. He looked sad.

"Only because most humans would fear us if we showed our true selves." He sounded sad.

"Well, I'm only 98 percent human. There's a two percent bird in me." I said proudly. He snorted. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Anyway, do you want to meet the pack." He asked again.

"Why not." He nodded and leaped off the porch. He walked a few steps then turned to look at me.

"Are you coming?" I jumped off the porch to join him.

Together we walked into the forest. Yamir seemed to be following some secret trail, one that I couldn't see. Time passed and I felt myself began to tire. I didn't tell Yamir. I didn't want to seem weak and I really wanted to meet the pack.

Just as I was about to collapse, Yamir entered a clearing and stopped. I looked around confused. There was nothing here.

"Extend your wings." Yamir ordered silently, so silently that I almost thought I was imaging things. I slowly spread my wings and stretched them to their limit. I heard a gasp and I whirled around. My wings began to close instantly.

"Keep them open." Yamir ordered. Again, I wasn't sure if I was hearing him or not, but I reopened my wings. Very slowly wolves immerged from the forest into the clearing.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I stared in amazement. There were at least a dozen wolves, and they were all staring at me. I began to feel self-conscious. I twitched my wings and the wolves closest to me took several steps back. They seemed tense and awed.

"It's alright. She'll keep our secret. As you can see, she has a major one of her own." Yamir said from my side. I sent him a mental thank you. Whispered conversation immediately broke out. There were several hostile glances thrown my way.

I was ready to collapse when all the murdering stopped suddenly. I looked up to see a huge black wolf make his way toward me and Yamir. From the way the others quickly made way for him, I recognized as the leader of the pack.

"Alfa male." I whispered softly. I felt rather than saw Yamir's nod. The Alfa stopped in front of Yamir and me.

"Yamir! What is the meaning of this?" He sounded outraged. I didn't blame him. Then he turned his burning eyes on me. I desperately wished I was strong enough to fly. As if hearing my mental plea, the wolf's eyes slid to my wings. I saw his eyes widen and I'm sure I heard a soft gasp. Then he pulled himself together so fast, I wondered if I only imaged his surprise.

"Shadow, this is Max. As you can see for yourself, she is not completely human." Yamir defended himself. I thought that the not completely human thing was obvious. I mean, Hello, I have wings people, err, wolves, err, mutant wolves. Oh, whatever!

"Yes, we can see that. But that still doesn't explain why she's here." Shadow said dryly. I hid a laugh in a cough. He gave me a funny look.

"Oh but," Yamir quickly added, "she has lost her memory." When this didn't go over as well as he hoped, Yamir played his trump card. "And, she is Rico's nice."

// Sorry about the loooong wait. If you read my other story, you'll see why. I promise to update by the week's end.


	15. Chapter 15

**Yhea, it's been way too long since I've posted. I'd lie and give excuses, but the truths simpler. I did what I usually did and abandoned a story. The past is the past, and I'm trying to move past that habit. Wish me luck.**

**Last time:**_ Yamir played his trump card. "And, she is Rico's niece."_

**Chapter 15**

Shadow turned to me and eyed me critically. I glared at him. My body was weak from my unaccustomed exercise and I really wanted a nap.

"You honestly expect me to believe that this weakly is Rico's niece?" Shadow said dryly. Anger flashed instantly, and my exhaustion was forgotten.

"That's rich coming from an overgrown mutt." I snapped, "I'm been through things that would make your hair curl! This was a waste of time Yamir, I'm going home." With that, I spun around and marched back. Yamir caught up to me quickly.

"I'm sorry." He said softly.

"I don't blame you." I said equally softly. The rest of the trip was spent in silence. The only upside of this whole thing, was that I saw some cute little squirrels I wanted to try drawing later.

I nearly cried with relief when the cabin came in view. My anger fueled energy had faded quickly, so I was weary down to my bones. I managed to open the sliding glass door, stumble to the couch, and collapse on the couch. Darkness welcomed me with open arms.



Pork chops and apple cobbler were the first things I smelled when I finally dragged myself awake. I jumped up and raced to the kitchen, nearly crash into with Yamir in the process. A last second jumped saw me through.

"Hey watch it!" He yelled. I smiled and thought Total would've said the same thing. I frowned as I tried to remember who Total was. I got a fuzzy image of a small black dog. The more I tried to focus on the image the worse it became. With a sigh I let it go.

"Max, Dinner's ready!" Uncle Rico called. That captured my complete attention. I ran into the kitchen and proceed to pile my plate so high I was in danger of toppling over from the weight. Rico laughed.



"Max relax, the food's not going anywhere." He said. My appetite was a source of great amusement to him.

"That's what you think." I murmured around the pork chop in my mouth. All that food was going to go somewhere, straight to my belly. Rico just shook his head and turned to Yamir as he walked in.

"Want a pork chop before Max devours them all?" he asked. I snorted. Yamir politely refused.

"I'm dining with the pack today." He explained. Rico lifted an eyebrow. "Shadow wants to talk to me." Yamir added embarrassed.

"What did you do this time?" Rico asked

"I introduced Max to the pack." Rico groaned.

"How well did that go over?"

"He insulted her so she snapped back then left. That didn't go over well."

"Ouch, hope your dinner goes okay." Rico said. Yamir nodded then continued past us to the sliding door. He chopped down on the rope tied to door handle. He quickly backed up, pulling the door open as he did. He walked through and repeated the process on reverse to close the door.

I waited till I couldn't see him anymore before I turned to Rico.

"Does he know that you only installed sliding doors so he could come and go freely?" I asked.

"It's for all of the pack, and, no, he doesn't." Rico said.

"Does anyone else from the pack every visit?"

"Shadow usually pops in every other week to report on how the pack and the forest is doing."

"Why?"

"I thinks it's his sense of duty as pack leader." The struck a deep cord in me. I'm not sure why, but I could understand how much pressure was on him to make the right decisions. My anger toward him lessened a little.



"Oh Max, I need to go to town tomorrow. Do you want to come along?" He asked. I thought about it for a second. I did need clothes and another sketch book or two.

"Sure." I said. How bad could it be?


	16. Chapter 16

**I blame any errors in my chapter on the CMT Music Awards. Have you ever tried to watch TV and type at the same time? See how dedicated I am to you guys. Yay, go Taylor Swift! Ahem, back to the story. Oh, I love this song!!**

**Chapter 16**

Yamir was asleep when I came downstairs the next morning. I wanted to ask him how last night went, but Rico was hurrying me along. He said something about an early start.

So there I was barreling down an overgrown country road in Rico's old truck. The sun was barely in the sky, but it still managed to shine in my eyes. Rico had some prepared with a pair of sunglass that looked like they belonged in some spy movie. I, unfortunately, was left to fend for myself.

"How far is town?" I asked as I tried to shade my eyes.

"It's about an hour or two away." He said calmly. My jaw dropped.

"An hour or two?!" I squeaked. There was no way that I was staying in this truck that long. Rico grinned evilly.

"What's wrong Max, can't stand to stay still that long?" He teased. I glared at him.

"What am I suppose to do for all that time? Look out a window or attempt to sing?" I asked sweetly. Rico winced at the mention of singing. He leaned over and opened the glove apartment. Inside was my sketch book and a bunch of sharpened pencils. I smiled smugly as I flipped open the book and picked up a pencil.

The next hour and half pasted in relative silence, except for the constant country music blasting from the radio. I periodically butchered a country song or two to annoy Rico. He fought back by bellowing the lyrics perfectly.

I sighed in relief when we finally reached town. Rico had decided to sing to every song for the last ten miles. While most of the country singers had good voices, Uncle Rico could make nuns scream.

We parked at the local Wal-Mart and I quickly leaped out of the truck.

"I'm alive!" I yelled to the sky. Rico gave me a sour look. We walked into the store. Rico grabbed a cart then turned to me.



"You've got twenty minutes to get what you need and met me back at the truck." He said as he handed me a hundred dollar bill. I started at the money for a second, then snatched it and made a bee line for the school supplies aisle.

Twenty minutes later I was standing by the truck with a bag full of sketch books in one hand and a bag of clothes in the other. Uncle Rico was late. Tired of waiting, I threw my bags in the back, and started sketching using one of my new sketchbooks.

I was drawing one of the dogs in someone's jeep when a pickup full of teenager roared into the parking lot. They were blasting rock music that a little too wild for a public place. They pulled up next to me and things went downhill from there.

_**I'll write more soon, but it late and me bed is calling me. Can't you hear it? It's saying "SLEEP! SLEEP! YOU KNOW YOU WANNA!" I'm afraid it's right.**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Be happy, I almost didn't write today. Why? Pure laziness, but I'm trying to rise above that.**

**Chapter 17**

They didn't turn off their truck. It was my first clue that something was wrong. I tensed, but kept drawing. I watched them out of the side of my eye.

"Well what do we have here? You some here often sweet thing?" drawled one of the teens as his friends cheered him on. I yawned and continued drawing. The idiots laughed like crazy. Big Mouth teen went red with anger.

"Hey bitch, I'm talking to you!" He yelled. I reached deep into my well of patience to keep from kicking his butt. I didn't think Uncle Rico would want blood on his truck. His buddies started giving me cat calls. My grip on my temper began to slide.

"What's wrong? You scared?" sneered Big Mouth. I froze, and then very slowly put my sketch book and pencil down. My eyes snapped up to glare at the teen.

"Excuse me?" I said softly. The teen smirked. My control snapped. I jumped in and move to stand next to the truck. The teen jerks his chin up, daring me to try something. I smile very sweetly then I punch his in the face.

There's a loud crack and his nose began to bleed. His buddies start yelling at me. A glare silences them. For a moment, the only thing that can be heard is the teens' music. Tires squeal as the teens roar out of the parking lot.

"Max" Rico says. He is NOT happy. I turn around grinning sheepishly. He shakes his head and puts his groceries in the back. I retrieve my sketch book and sit in the truck. The trip home is completely silent.

**Yhea, its short, but I update every other day and my attention keeps drifting. See there it goes again. Oh, look at the pretty colors! **


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry about the wait. I had company this weekend. But now I'm back so enough chit chat.

**Chapter 18**

"Max, what were you thinking? You were outnumbered. You could have been seriously hurt." Rico scolded. He had waited till we unloaded the groceries before chewing me out. The worst part was that he was absolutely right. I had been stupid. I hung my head and muttered an apology.

"How about Mac and Cheese tonight? It easy to make." He suggested. Lately, he's been trying to teach me to cook. I was learning slowly, painfully slowly. My last batch of eggs was burned to keep some poor creature from eating it and dying.

"I don't know Rico. Remember what happened to the eggs. Besides, I thought about exploring the forest today." I said. I really hadn't thought about that, but I was desperate to get out of another cooking lesson. Why spoil perfectly good food?

"Oh, okay Max. Be careful." He sounded disappointed. I felt a little guilty, but the image of the ruined eggs harden my resolve. I sighed and made my way outside.

The clean air and sunshine instantly cheered me. There was a small overgrown trail to my left. A nice paved path lay to my right. My eyes flickered to one then the other. The smart thing to do would be to take the paved path. I took the left path.

In moment Uncle Rico's house was hidden by trees. I felt alone yet at the same time surrounded my life. I walked for several hours. I was tired and thinking of looking for a place to stop when I noticed it seemed to get lighter up ahead. I walked toward it and found myself in a large clearing. I instantly recognized in as the one Yamir took me to.

As if hearing his name, Yamir entered the clearing from the other side. Shadow was walking next to him. Their head were close together. They seemed to be talking intensely. I had the feeling that I wasn't supposed to be here. I started to back up, but that was a mistake. Their eyes instantly shot to be.

"See, I told you she was a spy!" Shadow growled.

"How can she be a spy when she can't remember a thing?" Yamir argued fervently. It took me a moment to figure out that they were talking to me. Looks like I had just stumbled into trouble.

**I'm evil, I know. But the cliffes do prompt me to get my butt back here and continue writing.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

A spy? Why would they think I was a spy? Did I look like a spy? But then again, I did have that whole wings and memory loss thing going on. For all I know I might be some secret government project.

"Even if she wasn't a spy, I still don't want her in my forest." Shadow snarled. His forest? Just who does this overgrown mutt think he is?

"Last time I heard, this forest technically belongs to my Uncle. If I want to take a stroll in it I can." I said acidly. Yamir was looking at me. His eyes silently begged me to be silent before I got into more trouble. I almost laughed.

"Stay out of this you stupid human." Shadow snapped. "This is none of your business."

"It is my business when somebody is accusing me of being a spy." I shot back, and then could've bitten my tongue. Why did I have to go and remind him? His eyes flash and he began to advance on me with slow, deliberate steps.

"You just made your last mistake human." He snarled. I took a step back and he lunged. I didn't think my body simply shot straight into fight mode.

I threw myself sideways. I could feel his fur barely brush my bare feet. I hit the ground and rolled. I used that momentum to stand back up. The wolf whipped around to lunge at me again. I dodged again then sprang onto his back.

He howled in fury and bucked. I locked my arms around his neck and my feet around his stomach and held on tight. I don't know how long we stayed like that; me clinging to his back and him bucking like a horse trying to get me off.

Eventually, however, he got the bright idea to try slamming me against a tree. I saw what he was about to do and let go. I hit the ground hard. As I struggled to my feet, I heard a loud whack. I looked up to see shadow lying motionless beside a tree.

"Shadow!" Yamir wailed. I'd completely forgotten about the old wolf. He raced to Shadow's side and nudged him gently. Shadow didn't move. Looking at them now, I suddenly realize that, except for age, Shadow and Yamir looked exactly the same.

"Shadow's your son." I blurted out. Yamir turned his agonized eyes to me and nodded. I felt really bad, even though it hadn't been my fault. Shadow had attacked me, I had only defended myself.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as I crouched down next to Yamir. The old wolf shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault." He said his voice strained with unshed tears. I suddenly realized how ridiculous we were acting. We didn't even know if Shadow has dead or alive yet.



I reached out with a trembling hand and laid it on Shadow's neck. It was very faint and weak, but I felt a pulse. Relief flooded my body. No matter how much I didn't like Shadow, I didn't want to kill him.

"Yamir, he's still alive. Help me carry him back to the cabin. Uncle Rico'll know what to do." I commanded. I grabbed Shadow's forelegs and Yamir grabbed one of the hind legs. Together we slowly dragged him to Uncle Rico's cabin.


	20. Chapter 20

**FW, STWAOES, & SOF flashbacks. Not all are in this chapter, but will be in upcoming chapters. Sorry about the wait. Life's been piling up on me. I've finally gotten a handle on my homework and on my non- habit-forming habit. I'll write a longer than usually chapter to make it. Okay?**

**Chapter 20**

It's been two days since we've dragged Shadow to the cabin. The moment Rico saw Shadow he'd flown into action. He may not know much about Avian-hybrids, but with wolves he was in his element. In hours he had Shadow covered in bandages and settled in one of the spare bedrooms. Shadow was awake and grouching, but so far I've avoided him like the plague.

The pack came in ones or twos to visit their leader. I've learned a lot about them by simply observing from my post at the kitchen Island. Since the downstairs was one large room, except for the bathroom, I was able to keep out of the way.

What I learned was a little weird. I read about wolves in the books Rico had. These wolves acted almost nothing like them. They acted more like humans in wolf bodies. I was beginning to wonder if they were somehow related to the wolf things in my flashbacks, both on and off paper. It was also painfully obvious which wolves were original pack members and who had came from other packs.

The normal wolves were smaller, didn't speak, and always stuck close to their mates sides. They looked freaked out to be in a human dwelling. They must really love their leader. This made me feel guiltier. Of all the wolves I hurt, it just had to be the most loved. Strangely, they didn't seem to hate me. Anytime I happened to make eye contact with one of them, he or she just nodded respectfully and kept going.

I haven't seen much of Yamir since Shadow was taken upstairs. He only strayed from his sons side when natured called. Rico took both of their meals up to them, but Rico was gone tonight for a town meeting. This meant that I was going to have to take them meals and probably have another skirmish with Shadow.

That was why I was at the stove cooking while rocking out to the radio. I didn't care that I was dancing badly. There was no one here to see me shaking my hips and bobbing my head like an idiot. It felt good to just let go and have fun. Something told me I didn't do much of this in my shadowy past.

_I was in a huge toy store. Right inside the front door was a huge two-story clock covered with moving figures. The song "It's a Small World" was playing loudly. _

_A life-sized stuffed giraffe surrounded by other life-sized stuffed animals led the way to the whole way to the whole stuffed-animal area. _

_I looked down at two blond haired kids. They were staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed._

_"Iggy," the blond boy said, "there's a whole room of Lego and Bionicle."_

_"Go with them," I told the Dark Angel. "And let's keep an eye out for each other, okay?"_

_He nodded and followed the boys into the Lego room while I trailed after the girls, who were picking up one stuffed animal after another._

_" Oh, my gosh," The black girl was saying, holding a small stuffed tiger. "Oh Max, isn't he the cutest thing? Oh, his name is Samson."_

_I dutifully agreed that he was in fact the cutest thing and kept glancing around._

_"Max?" The blond girl tugged on my sleeve. I turned to her, and she held up a small stuffed bear. It was dressed as an angel, with a white gown and little wings on its back. A tiny gold wire halo floated above its head._

_The girl's eyes were pleading with me. I checked its price tag. The pleasure of owning this small stuffed bear could be hers for only forty-nine dollars._

_"I's so sorry, Angel," I said, bending down to her eye level._

I snapped back to the present. The meat was burning on the stove. I turned the stove and the radio off before shakily sitting down on a stool. I put my throbbing head in my hands.

Except for the kissing memory, I've been only getting fragments of pictures, parts of sentences, or little bits of random knowledge. This memory had knocked me off my feet my it's clearly. I wasn't just remembering, I was there. I could see it, taste it, feel it, hear it.

I was so disoriented by it, that I didn't notice Yamir till he was sitting right in front of me.

"You okay?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"Yhea, just a little dizzy. I just had on hell of a flashback." I told him. A low snort from a few feet to my right told me we weren't alone. I raised my head to look into Shadow's dark eyes.


	21. Chapter 21

**Again, sorry about the long three week or so wait. I blame school and my laptop. I lost Microsoft word and had to do a pc recovery to get it back. This, of course, practically erased everything thing on my laptop. Thank God I had everything back up on my desk top pc. On with the story!**

**Chapter 21**

My body instantly tensed as I watched Shadow warily.

"What are you doing out of bed?" I asked Shadow, but it was Yamir who answered.

"Rico gave him the okay to come down." My eyes flickered from wolf to wolf. The silence in the room was thick with tension. It wore on my nerve and I wanted to say something to relive it but I wasn't going to be the one to break first.

"Max, is that our dinner I smell burning?" Yamir finally asked. I jumped then looked guiltily at the burned meat.

"Uh, yhea. It was. Sorry about that." Shadow chuckled again. I glared at him. "At least I'm not the one dumb enough to run into a tree and knock myself silly." I snapped.

Shadow's laugher stopped instantly. He growled at me, anger sparking in his dark eyes. I growled right back. Yamir stepped between us, sighing loudly.

"If you two children are snipping at one another, maybe we could get dinner back under way?" Yamir suggested. I spared another hard glare at Shadow before rescuing what was left of the meat. To my surprise, most of it was savable. All those failed cooking lessons with Rico were really paying off.

I divided the meat into three bowls and place two of them on the floor. I grabbed my bowl, dumped a mountain of ketchup on it, and retreated to the couch. Yamir and Shadow instantly attacked the food. A smile tugged at my lips. I quickly suppressed it.

It took us about five minutes for us to wolf everything down. Awkward silence descended again. I quickly leaped up and cleaned the kitchen. The wolves wondered around aimlessly. I finally had all I could stand. I whipped around to face Shadow.

"Shadow, what do you have against me?" I asked with my usual lack of tack. Shadow was silent so long I wondered if he was going to answer at all.

"You brought danger into the forest and endangered the pack." He said bluntly. I looked at him stunned.

"Wha-, how could I endanger the pack?" I asked confused.

"Robots are searching the woods for you."


End file.
